


Shattered Pieces

by Ahheck



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Gen, Mollymauk Tealeaf Lives, POV Mollymauk Tealeaf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahheck/pseuds/Ahheck
Summary: Mollymauk... you are well loved by many.But your story didn't end with your first death.So why should it end with your second?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	1. Introduction

Warnings at the end of this stuff.

WOW I'm starting something else without finishing the first one.yesI'm sorry ok? But I just got to this part and can't really function too well so I want to make a tribute of sorts to my favorite flashy purple teifling, Mollymauk.

I will be continuing Guardian angel I just need to get this out to help me hopefully come to peace with his death.   
I got WAY too attached to him and loved him like an older brother, I am not happy about his ending I wanted to add to him as a character and fill in the gaps of his back story.

As of now, 5/5/20, I have not finished the second campaign of Critical role, I can't find myself to watch the next episode but I do know quite a bit about what happens to Molly after his death. 

That being said, I will be pulling MANY different tricks and be playing by DnD rules for this Mini-Campaign if you will, I might add art to this add other things. Molly will be level 5 for most of it considering those are the last stats he had. 

If you have issues with this book then just don't read it, it is mostly just for me. 

I am open to ideas and if I get something wrong feel free to correct me.

I will likely write the prologue/chapter one once I continue the campaign but as of now, this is just to start things out and let you all see what's up.

The rest of the Mighty Nein will not be likely to show up, this is solely about Molly and his journey.

WARNING

This book contains

Spoilers for the Second Critical Role Campaign

Violence

Swears

Death 

and other things...


	2. Prologue

This darkness was comforting, it was similar to a dreamless slumber, yet, he knew he wasn't asleep. 

Sleep wasn't this... permanent. 

It wasn't this cold, wasn't this... lonely.

Although, it seemed oddly familiar to him; as if this wasn't the first time this had happened. 

It confused him, he couldn't seem to understand what was happening or what was going on. 

In fact, he couldn't seem to remember...

Who was he?

Where was he?

Why was he here?

Where was here?

He had to pause as all the thoughts were straining and were starting to give him a slight headache.

He tried to calm himself as to subdue the oncoming growing ache yet he couldn't seem to move. 

Or breathe for that matter.

He began to become overwhelm and freak out by this situation. 

He looked around and tried to desperately cry out.

Nothing seemed to change.

He was simply a conscious mind floating within this forever abyss of darkness. He was powerless to this world without any knowledge of time or state of being.

He wanted out of this dreamless sleep, he wanted to think again. To remember who he was, to remember anything about him. 

Who was he?

He looked around him, the darkness consuming him slowly, he could feel himself slipping away into the unknown.

He wanted something different than what the void was claiming as its own.  
Memories.

He wanted to remember. He wanted to know how he got here.

He let his mind wander, yet no matter where it went it would hit a dead end. Nothing he did what getting him closer to understanding what was happening, or why it was happening. He wanted it to stop and be free.

The more he let his mind wander, the more he became frustrated and more he yearned to be freed from this prison he was confined to.

He snarled and growled, if he had a body he would be thrashing and throwing a tantrum.

He didn't want to give up, something was telling him not to. Yet all the signs pointed to him being stuck here for as long as the clockless time ticked away.

He finally stopped. The headache returned to his mind which had been the cause of him stopping his search. He quieted his mind and just let the silences of the black void slowly take him. It was consuming, and that frightened him. He didn't want to let the darkness take him, he knew that would be counterproductive to what he wanted in his reach, whatever that might be.

He listened to the emptiness around him, until he heard a noise. One outside of his constant thoughts.

He perked up upon experiencing something new. He stayed quiet once more to listen.

CAW!

There it was again! His headache started to kick up again.

He was headed in the right direction...

Finally a way out of this mess...

He tried to reach out towards the noise and call back to it.

Nothing...

His mind ached as his longing grew.

The pain almost becoming unbearable, but he knew it was worth it when he spotted something different from the eternal darkness.

A faint glow of red.

It was subtle and he almost overlooked it in his reach for the noise that was now nowhere to be heard.

He started to make his way over to the light.

The closer he got the brighter the little glow got.

His senses started to return, he could hear the pounding of bare feet, the heavy breathing of a man, the wind passing him as he ran, closer and closer.

He reached out to grab the source of light, he could see an arm, reaching where he would be reaching. It was bare, it shown red with the light but he could make out its original color to be a lavender purple.

He reached further still, strings of what he could now make out to be hair flew in his face. He took his outreached hand and moved them out of the way. He could feel pointed ears poke out and he felt hard forces growing out of the top of his head.

He ran further still, not giving up.

He got closer yet fell face flat into the ground as he tripped over something. He rolled to his back to see a long thin limb being formed, he watched it grow for a little before picking himself up and dashing after the only source of light he had. He was determined to reach it, he had to reach it.

The sound of jingling reach his ears and he felt chains hang from his horns and ears, as the cloths on him slightly clinging as well.

His body begins to sting as he watched his arms come to life with ink. He watched as a serpent coiled around one of his arms as its eye glowed red. He could feel every detail of the ink being placed onto his body. He couldn't tell what they were or their meaning but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

The next stinging pain was different, it wasn't like the ink lines that now decorated his purple skin. It was a sharp, painful, sting, and it didn't leave. He felt another one cut into him, he winced and staggered to a halt. He reached a hand up to feel where the pain had came from only to feel a hot liquid oozing out of the sharp gash in his skin, he looked at his hand and saw dark crimson.

Blood.

He looked to the fading light and quicken his pace from before, his time was running out.

He felt the sharp cuts slice into his flesh even more now, some more deadly than others yet those seemed to fade after a while.

He was almost at the light with his arm outreached once more when he felt one final pain.

It came from his lower chest and was by far the worst pain he had felt out of the lot of them.

He fell, his eyes falling half-lidded as he did, he couldn't see what was going on, all he could sense was the white-hot pain that emanated from his chest.

He was limp as the world slowed for him, his outstretched hand in reach for the blight yet dimly lit object, his eyes closed shut as he readied himself to get pulled into the darkness once more. When he felt it.

A mostly smooth stone.

He could feel the cracks from the bottom of the object and the slight warmth it gave off as he held it.

He felt at peace, as he curled around the object the pain slowly faded.

He had done it.

He won....

**???**

**Male Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**

**1/59 HP**


	3. Chapter one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the Wattpad version there were pictures to indicate a shift in story but idk how to do that here rip there are just big gaps now

He felt his eyes flutter open, he could feel the smooth yet shattered stone that lied within his grip start to fade into nothing but splinters of what it once was.

He could slightly see the faint glow it gave off yet something else pierced into his eyes. He instantly closed them to stop it from continuing to fall into his red orbs.

He reached his arm up, it was pulled down by some sort of fabric but he easily broke through it and felt loose ground roughly move around him. A pit started to form in his chest as the odd familiarity comes back to him. He felt a lurch in his stomach, something was off. He needed to get out, and soon.

He struggled to reach out and free himself from the earth that surrounded him. His heartbeat was wild with adrenalin as he desperately swam and forced himself upward. He couldn't tell how long he was clawing his way up but his struggle was not in vain though, he could feel the ground around him start to grow colder and colder.

He knew he was near the finish line, he couldn't give up now.

He growled as the rough soil scraped his skin, making his effort harder, the dirt sticking to his exposed teeth.

And then he felt it.

The crisp cold air of freedom.

Freedom from this nightmare.

He quickly grasped onto the ground and started to pull his weight out of the dirt that surrounded him. He desperately clawed and scraped at the dirt to dig himself out.

Once his head breached the surface he took in a sharp and deep breath. His lungs filling with his first breath of air. He coughed and panted trying to catch the breath he needed to regain the life within this body of his.

He pulled himself out of the dirt, and stumbled onto his knees, he looked down at himself to examine what he looked like. He saw the lavender skin from before littered with ink and scared cuts, only this time he could see the clear details of everything. Including the deep red blood that covered his hands.

He looked over himself to find a deep and large gash within his abdomen-chest area. It was bleeding at the rate of his heart and was only pooling faster. He was slowing coming out of his adrenaline state and starting to feel the horrible pain that the wound was producing. He gagged as the pain stole his breath away he fell to his hands and shortly after onto the ground. He rolled onto his back to look up at the sky.

He had no energy left within him to do anything else, he coughs violently as he could now feel the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Had he ultimately lost in the end?

Had this all been for nothing?

He felt his eyes sting with tears as they slid their way down his cheeks. He closed his eyes and let his exhaustion take over.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

His red eyes popped open when his body lurched and bounced, sending waves of pain thought his corpse. He hissed and squeezed the red orbs shut once more. He was still exhausted from digging himself out of his soil tomb and he was not wanting to be awoken for anything.

His ears rung with a sharp sound that blocked out any other noise around him. He felt at peace once again, he wanted to curl up and sleep like before, but the lurching from the wooden form underneath him wasn't allowing that.

He gave in, the sunlight now flooding his senses and he slowly sat up to get into a more comfortable position. He stuck a finger into each of his ears to clear the ringing and blinked his eyes to help his vision.

He looked around himself only to find a lot of blankets and what seemed to be pillows. He was confused as he didn't remember this sight before he fell. He looked to his hands to see the blood on them had smeared and dried. He looked to his abdomen and the other wounds he didn't even know he had until now, they all had been wrapped in bandages and looked like they had been treated.

He looked at himself in awe, he was entranced with the little bit of clothing he was wearing.

He had a torn and stained shirt that clearly needed to be replaced, his pants were dark blue, teal, and purple, its pattern consisted of stripes on one leg and diamonds on the other. It was dirty and had some tears but they where in much better condition. He had multiple belts and pouches containing items doesn't know of. He has two odd spots on either side of his belt near his hips, he couldn't tell what they were used for but they seemed important. His boots were currently off, but from what he could see of them they were tall, around knee-high and a dark brown ripped up leather.

"Well, looks who's awake! How are ya feeling kid?"

The Lavender tiefling snapped his head in the direction of the voice. It was coming from in front of him and seemed to be in a jolly and happy mood.  
He couldn't speak back, his mouth was dry and his throat sore, instead he just stared at the figure in front of him.

"Not much of a talker, eh?" the figure hummed "Well, can you tell me one thing? What's your name?"

The Lavender inked man looked down once more, he searched his thoughts for anything he could think of, anything he could recall. The only word that came to him was one he barely felt leave his lips, just slightly below a whisper.

"Empty..."

He wasn't sure where that word came from but it was the only word he could seem to get out. Empty. It was so lonely.

Was he lonely?

It reminded him of the endless abyss he was once trapped in.

Was he once apart of that abyss?

Was he once nothing but darkness?

"Parton me?" He looked up to the figure once more, the sunlight not helping his vision, as it was too bright for him at the moment.

"E-empty..." He found himself repeating the word, a little louder this time.

The figure pondered over this for a while, which gave his eyes some time to adjust. He could see the figure was on the shorter side, he had a mustache and heavy stubble on his chin. He couldn't see much more as the figure turned away and his hat blocked a lot of his view. He looked around the place he was in, it was covered, away from the sun and outside, there were boxes and barrels and many other supplies with him. The wooden floor below him shifted as he could hear the clipping and clopping of hooves at a steady rate.

They were in a cart.

He rubbed a hand over the blankets, they were most of them were wool but some were of furs and were softer.

"Well, I've never heard a name like that before, 'Empitie'. unless you're saying something else like oh I don't know..." His lavender ears twitched to hear the figure, he could just make out the sounds he was making, he was repeating the word over and over. "Are ya saying M.T.? Like initials or something?"

He thought this over. Something about that rang a bell, it wasn't a very loud one but he could hear it's dull ring within his head. He slowly nodded his head, not trusting his voice to spit out the same word once more.

"Well M.T., you're mightly lucky for us to have been travelin' this a way. Otherwise, yous might have bled out on that there spot of yours" He looked to his wounds again, dressed and yet still showing it's extent of damage by soaking into the bandages. "I'm just glad you woke up! Yous been sleeping back there for almost 3 days now! I almost thought you was a corpse, wouldn't have liked to see that..."

He offered a small smile, he tries to sputter out some words other than the one he was feeling an impulseto spit out once mor. "T-thank yo-" the purple creature started to cough and wince at making movements.

"Oh, right!" The figure let out a woah as the cart slowed, the short man crawled in back and handed over a waterskin. Hungrily, the half-dead tiefling took it and drank as much as he could, his thirst not defeated but he didn't want to drink all of it. Next, he was handed some jerky and an apple. He gladly excepted these gifts as the man climbs over to the horses once more.

"T-t-thank you, I... I don't understand..."

The man just laughed slightly, "Listen here sonny, I've seen some weird things in my life time but one thing is for sure, when yous be seeing some half-dead man on the side of the road, you stop."

The lavender tiefling stares off, he runs a hand through his hair and tears off some of the jerky.

"Now once you finish eatin' you get some rest, best not to stress yourself too much ya got it?"

He rubbed his red eyes as a child would, and lied back onto his makeshift bed. His exhaustion hadn't left him, he smiled at the thought of not being truly alone anymore. To have someone by his side to look after him and to take care of him.

He wondered if he had ever had that before?

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

The world around him was dark once again, he felt on edge and didn't enjoy the feeling of being stuck in the darkness again. He looked around him to try and find anything that would be out of the ordinary. He could just make out the outline of buildings surrounding him, he looked to the sky to find it at an overcast, which calmed him.

He listened to his echoing footfalls as he walked, he wasn't sure where he was but the only way to figure it out was to explore a bit.

He walked into a street like area, it was slightly lit, unlike the place he first arrived in. He admired the structures that surrounded him, they were cosy looking and that made him want to go in them. He watched as some people walked along the street with him, making a smile creep onto his features.

He wasn't sure why, but this place seemed familiar.

Was this his home town?

His thoughts got cut off shortly after with a strong and firm voice from behind him.

"And where are you going?"

He quickly whipped around and shrunk at the size of the intimidating creature now in front of him.

They had long woven hair, strong cheekbones, and muscles, their eyes were two different colors, yet he couldn't make them out in the low light. Their hair was pushed behind their broad shoulders but from what he could see it was a black the faded into a lighter color. They had a thin line that ran from their bottom lip down their chin.

The lavender tiefling panicked, what did they want from him? What were they going to do with him?

"Hey! You alright? You seem spooked..."

He looked to their face to find it had melted into worry, he felt his tense muscles relax. Maybe they weren't that bad...

"I-i was just going for a walk..."

The giant slowly nodded their head, they seemed to not enjoy being around the other people walking along the streets.

"Well, we need to post the filers, the carnival is only in a few nights you know."

He looked to the paper she had in her hand.

**The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities...**

That sounded, familiar...

**M.T.**

**Male Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**

**9/59 HP**


	4. Chapter two

Much to his dislike, his red eyes opened to view the top of the covered cart. He wanted to learn more about whatever he saw.

Who was that tall person?

What was the Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities?

Why was it familiar to him?

He sighed, he wish he could go back, he seemed to be more familiar with that place than where he was now. He wanted to be with that person again, to ask them all his questions and get the answers he needed, the ones he deserved.

He needed to know what this carnival was. He a feeling that this could answer his questions. The issue now was how was he going to find it? By the sound of it they traveled a lot, he would have to ask around and hope he could find it.

He looked at the snake on his arm, it's eye was dull and unmoving, yet the power of it made him question if he truly wanted answers. If he truly wanted to know what or who he was before... this. Did he want to find out? Couldn't he just live his life as this M.T.? Couldn't he just start his life from now and not worry about whatever came before him?

He liked the sound of not having to figure out who he was and instead start from scratch. Making him who he is and not the sad sap that adorned this inked and scared vessel he now has possession of now.

He smiled at the thought but it was quickly replaced by a wave of sadness and loneliness. His heart ached, it felt broken. He furrowed his brows in confusion, he placed a hand over where his heart would be. It was as if he could feel the pain of a thousand people cry out. Crying out to him. He could feel their pain and tears, he didn't like it... He didn't want to feel this... it was almost worst than some of the wounds that littered his broken and battered corpse. He had to make sure he wasn't bleeding from his upper chest. He stared off at the roof above him, he tried to get his mind off of this pain.

Maybe...

Maybe he should try to remember.

Maybe his life before this was the same him...

Hell, if he was someone different, he wouldn't have any memories or sense of familiarity, right?

He wouldn't have any dreams outside of his knowledge.

He needed to find this carnival, he needed to find this giant person that cared for him.

He signed once more before picking himself up, he wished his adrenaline would return to him so he couldn't feel the cry of his wounds but he would just have to fight through it for now.

He looked to where the man was before to find that he was no longer driving the cart. Now that he noticed that, he didn't feel the cart moving at all.

He quickly, yet carefully, make his way to his feet. His knees buckled and he had to catch himself on one of the many boxes so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself further.

He grinds his teeth and forces himself to stand once more. He needed to get out and find the man that saved him. He needed someone to be with him. He didn't want to be alone again.

He stumbled to the front of the wagon and crawled into the seat. He didn't pay any mind to the world around him as he jumped onto the ground with a groan.

The grass tickled his still bare feet, he looked around him, his red eyes wild. People adorned the small area around him, they all turned to see who was letting out the sounds of pain. They all had looks of worry and shock. He stayed low to the ground as the people started to come up to him and surround him.

Even though his prayers of ending his loneliness was fulfilled he didn't like them surrounding him like an injured animal. He felt cornered and trapped, it was a twisted paradox to the void he came from. His breathing quickened and his grip on reality started to fade slightly. He curled up to keep as far away from the others as he possibly could.

He could hear their whispering and gossip, he knew it was about him. He covered his head and ears to block it out. He was regretting his decision to leave the wagon.

He heard footsteps start to approach him and he instantly reared back letting out a low hiss. He accomplished his goal of scaring the lady approaching, yet what he didn't account for was her eyes to turn black and have blood run from the corners of her eyes. He felt a dull stab to his neck and felt something run down his neck.

The lady let out a shriek and tumbled backward. He took this time to run away from the small crowd, he didn't want to stick around to see what they were going to do. He just wanted to find the man that helped him, he felt safe with him.

Once he was out of sight he fell to a sitting position and dug his claw-like nails into the base of his horns. He didn't like this gap of understanding, he didn't understand what was going on or why and it scared him. His heart rate was picking up and matching his quick breathing, he squeezed his red eyes shut.

As he sat there, he cried, letting out all the emotions he had been forced to bottle up for who knows how long.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

The slight shaking of his shoulders woke him from a dreamless sleep he didn't know he was in. He looked up to the bushy mustache of the dwarf that had came to his aid.

"Hey there, you scared everybody here. Yous alright?" The tiefling nodded his head, and the dwarven man helped him to his feet. There was a defiant height difference between the two of them but that didn't stop his savior, the small dwarf carried most of his weight. He didn't really want to move, he was quite comfortable where he was.

"Oh come on now, we've got to get yous to Zadash" the tiefling let out a heavy sigh and hung his head, "We've only got a little ways to go, don't yous a worry."

He planted his feet and started to walk alongside the dwarf, he let the man lead him back to the wagon.

He'd think he wouldn't be as tired as he was with the fact he slept for gods know how long. Yet thinking over the times he's been awake and the emotional and other stresses he was under he started to understand his exhaustion.

The next days weren't anything special, the tiefling who was getting used to being called "M.T." mostly slept. They had 3 days until they reached Zadash and M.T. had slept through the first one and a half before his energy started to return to him.

Time was still foreign to him as it wasn't a concept within the darkness. It took a better half of a day to understand the rest of what he had lost the basics on.

By the time he had relearned and had gotten a feel for some of the senses that had been lost to the void, the cart had pulled off of the road to have where the campsite with be for tonight.

The dwarf, which he now knows as Grendle, stopped the horses and started to hop out of the cart. M.T. still had the urge to follow him as to not be alone yet his initial panic from the darkness had faded as he started to gain a grip on reality once more.

He went back to reading the book he had found within the other stuff around him. It wasn't anything too special, just something that he could use to pass the time. He wasn't too invested into the story just yet but he had a feeling he was about to be.

"Hey, M.T., yous want to come out and join us?"

He looked up from the paper and to Grendle. The hat was off his balding head to help reveal the eyes that shone with pure kindness and caring. The lavender man set his book aside to answer the dwarven man.

"Join us? There are others with the two of us?"

The older man chuckled, "Yes, the ones you spooked not but a few days ago" he looked to something outside of the cart, a place that M.T. couldn't see.

"Oh... If it wouldn't be a bother..."

"Of course it wouldn't, come on I insist"

Grendle offered a hand towards him, he was hesitant at first but firmly took the smaller hand and stood on his still shaky legs. They weren't nearly as bad as they first were but it didn't help that he was either sitting or lying down for the past 9 or so days.

A smile lit up the features of the dwarf as he helped the tiefling out of the wagon, the sun was just beginning to fall under the hills around them. He looked out at the small camp that was starting to be made, the place was surrounded by wagons like the one he just exited. People were out and already making preparations for the night. Some of the children ran around and played with each other, they laughed and talked in hushed excited tones.

M.T. stepped onto the cold grassy ground, he hadn't put his shoes on yet as he didn't have any need for them within the cart. He didn't seem to mind though he just continued to follow the dwarfish man.

The people they were approaching, looked up to see who was coming towards them. Their faces contorted into worry and shock, their eyes not leaving the violet stranger.

"Like I said, you spooked them yous did"

M.T. rubbed the back of his neck nervously, he didn't meet any of their gazes. "Well in my defense they scared the hell out of me as well."

"Perhaps we all got off on the wrong foot, hows about we talk over a hot meal?"

He like the sound of that, it seemed the others liked the sound of it as well because soon enough everyone's focus was on the meal that was being prepared. M.T. found a nice spot not too far away and sat himself down.

He watched the fire dance, as the sun started to lower itself below the horizon. He smiled and took a deep breath to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

He shifted slightly so he wasn't sitting on his tail when he heard the clicking of something from his belt pouch. He had completely forgotten about them by this point, maybe it was time to see what was in them.

He started by opening one of the smaller ones on his side, it was filled with only a few scattered coins. Most of it was Copper. If he had to guess, this was his coin purse. He was relieved he had some on his person otherwise he was going to be having a lot harder time getting around everywhere and getting the supplies he needed. Yet by the looks of it, someone cleaned him out of most of his coin. He moved on to a larger pouch, this one had a mixture of different items; cards, some weird dust-like substance, an empty waterskin, some little trinkets he didn't know the use for, and bits and pieces of what he thought to be a disguise kit.

He didn't seem to care about any of the other stuff within the pouch, but the cards were unlike anything he had seen within the 6 or so days he had since crawling out of the hole in the ground. There were only a few of them altogether as if the rest had been taken and these were likely stored in a different pocket. They had pictures and numbers and sometimes captions on them. Some were bent, or cut, or dirty, some even had bloodstains on them. One of them caught his attention, it wasn't like the other cards, this one had paint on it as if someone was going to paint over the original image.

He tilted his head to study it more. It had some red stains like the other blood-stained cards he had seen and the little painting of what he could only describe as an unfinished blue blob. There were other little things painted on here and there, but the blob of blue was what had his attention. It looked unfinished and it resembled a figure.

He would have stared at it longer but the waft of food hit him in the nose at full force. He packed up the little belongings he had as he heard the call everyone was waiting for.

"Come and get it!!"

Everyone from the caravan was now around the fire grabbing something to eat. M.T. even had his own bowl of soup, it warmed him up from the cold night that was upon them now. The travelers were talking to one another and laughing while they ate, the red-eyed tiefling watched some of them converse and smiles bit.

Yet he found himself frowning shortly after, he felt an emptiness inside of him, like he was missing something. Maybe he had a family he was forgetting?

Though if he had a family, they most likely wouldn't leave him buried alive in the ground. Unless they weren't on good terms.

He stared at the bowl of soup in his hands, he must have sat like that for a while because when he came out of his thoughts there were some people sitting around him.

Their faces all adorned smiles and warm expressions, and none of them looked like the purple horned man. He shrunk back and brought his legs up towards his chest, at least as far as he could, he wrapped his tail around his legs and stared at his soup some more.

"Hey! You're the guy that did the blinding thing right?"

The tiefling jumped in his spot at the sudden voice, he turned to see a young boy. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes, freckles dotted his face, and his ears slightly pointed at the ends.

"U-ummm, I guess... I didn't stick around to see what happened."

"My dad says you got into a big fight and you got a lot of cool scars!"

He was taken aback by the boy's eagerness, "I mean... Yes, I have a lot of scars but I don't know about a 'big fight'..."

"Well, can you tell about it?"

"Ahh, it's nice that your interested but I don't know any stories that I can tell you"

"Why not?"

"I don't remember much of anything. Sorry to let you down..."

"But you do remember how to do that cool blinding thing, right?"

"I have no idea how I did that, that must have been because of my fear and other emotions."

The boy seemed to think over his words, "Well, is there anything you do remember? Maybe I can help!!"

M.T. looked over the kid, even though the boy looked young he most likely knew about more everything than himself. Might as well give it a chance.

"Ok, well bear with me on this" the boy's smile only grew as he nodded his head. M.T. sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, the first few days were nothing to note, I was just confused and afraid. I did have an odd dream, there was this tall figure, long fading hair, two different colored eye, and some black markings on their skin. They were talking to me as if we knew each other."

"Did you?" M.T. looked over to the boy, the expression on his face must have answered the question but he spoke.

"No, but they surely did. They talked about handing out filers for a Carnival..."

"Did you get the name of it?"

"Yes, the filer read something like Fletch and Moon carnival of curiosities..."

"Well, that's a start! I'm sure if we ask the other adults they might now where to find it!"

Thinking over the idea, a smile started to creep onto the Lavender tiefling's features.

"You know, you might be right..."

The boy outstretched his hand, "Arther!"

M.T. stared at the hand for a while before taking the small appendage into his larger one.

"M.T."

Arther smiled and giggles slightly.  
"What kind of name is that?"

"The only one I know I have as of now" The tiefling's brows furrowed.

"Well, if you belonged to the carnival then I'm guessing your name would be more showy, like... Mickial Throten"

"I mean, the thought isn't bad, but Mickial?"

"I dont know, Makalee moooo... Mekala?"

"Those are very feminine..."

"Well, there aren't many showy boy names..."

Arther crossed his arms and gave off a fake pout.

Some of the other children started to listen in and give some name suggestions.

"Maxwell?"

"Madelyn?"

"Maverick?"

Nothing sound familiar... he just sighed and set aside his bowl. The other boys started to argue slightly about how this name wouldn't be this one or how that name was stupid.

M.T. just closed his eyes, so far his only hope being the tall person and this carnival.

He started to stand to leave, he enjoyed the help but he figured someone that has been alive longer would know more people and places.

He didn't have to go far as Grendle and the others were only a few feet away.

The dwarven man chuckled as he approached.

"Make some friends now did ya?"

The nameless tiefling smiled slightly, "it appears that I have. Though they might be a little too young to know all this world has to offer. Mind if you help fill in those gaps?"

"Depends, can yous explain to the rest of these fellows what's all going on? To put their minds at ease..."

He didn't feel like repeating himself but did anyways. He didn't want the first people he's seen be afraid of him. He explained everything he knew about up to like point, he spared them his feelings and thoughts as they weren't that important to get his point across. When he finished he made a quick and clear statement, "I don't mean any harm, I don't know if I can do unordinary things or anything of that sorts but I do know that I want to leave every place better than I left it..."

He felt his tongue buzz with those final words. Has he said something like that before? Did those words mean something more than he knew?

He wouldn't truly know. At least not now.

"You were talking about the carnival?"

His head snapped over to a middle-aged elvish woman, her long golden hair was tied up into a bun, and her eyes were a pricing green. He nodded to answer her question.

"Fetch and Moon Carnival of Curiosity..."

"They shut down a while ago..." The lavender man felt his heart sink. His only good lead was that carnival. Without it, he was stuck in a goose chase after the tall figure in his dream, which he didn't have a name for or a good description.

"But, I do know what town you could find the ringmaster in" The woman thought for a few seconds, "I believe it was Trostenwald"

Trostenwald, he'd need to write that down somewhere whenever he got the chance. He stared off for a while just repeating the name and everything he remembered thus far.

"I reckon you'll be makin' your way there after Zadash?"

M.T. looked towards Grendle, "It would be a good start."

"Well, I'ma gonna get going to bed, yous best be doing the same. Yous need all the energy yous can get." He thanked the dwarf as he left. There weren't many others left around the fire, all the children had left, most likely shooed off to sleep. There were only two human men, who looked to be on the first watch for the night, and a few others that were enjoying each other's presence.

M.T. stood and started to make his way back towards the cart to check-in for the night, before he could his ear twitched as he heard one of the mothers talking.

"Molly, what are you doing out of bed."

His head turned, almost out of instinct from hearing that name. He saw the little girl, whom he believed to be named Molly, run up to her mother and give her a hug. Yet his thoughts were on the name, Molly, I sound so familiar. Was he Molly? Did he know a Molly?

He continued on his way, as he was growing tired by every second.

Molly.

**Molly? T.**

**Male Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**

**24/59 HP**

**\+ Blooded and painted on Tarot Card**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Speaking of not knowing how to put in pictures, I had made the painted tarot card put rip don't got it now


	5. Chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found something to replace my sword picture!  
> Also!!  
> https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/624330982266503189/716695456834650112/Card.png  
> Link to the painted tarot card!

The night went by uneventful, even though the excitement of discovering something new about himself or his past was still nagging at him, he found his night's rest to be rather peaceful.

The conclusion he made was one that brought new confidence to bubbled within him. The name was all too familiar to him, that way he reacted to hearing it made him believe it was a name from his past. A friendly one.

The wood below him shifted and creaked as the wagon continued on its path. M.T. had woken up not too long ago and was thinking over everything.

_Carnival_

_Figure with black to white hair_

_Trostenwald_

He needed to find something to write on so he didn't have to worry about forgetting any information.

Despite those facts, he was started to feel a hell of a lot better. Not only physically but emotionally and mentally as well. He's a lot less panicked and anxious and more... normal? At least that's the way he felt for the time being, he still felt odd around others. He chalked it up to just not being comfortable with them because of the first impression.

He picked up the book next to him, he had picked up a new one, as the old one wasn't quite his taste. He dusted off the cover and looked it over.

_Gore Stalkers_

He raised an eyebrow at the odd name, it sounded as if it were trying to be more than it actually was. He shrugged his shoulders and opened it.  
He skimmed at first but soon found himself sitting up and reading every word.

It had plot and a storyline yet he was more interested in what information the book held. It sounded strange yet fascinating... and familiar somehow.

_These hunters use their own injuries to aid them in whatever they wish to accomplish, whether it's to curse or manipulate creatures. They can use one blood curse of their choosing. It's called Blood Maledict._

The book then went into some cheesy romantic relationship that, even though he would normally enjoy it and read through it, he skipped most of it to gain more information on what he needed.

He was close to the climax of the book with nothing to conclude his curiosity. The final fight against the blood hunter when it happened. The book described how the main character's vision faded and he could feel blood run down his cheeks from his eyes. Similar to the time he was surrounded by the crowd.

He read to the end to make sure nothing else happened. The blood hunter escapes and the main character is forced to search for him once again.

Nothing.

No indication of anything else about the blood hunter.

He shut the book with a frustrated sigh. Not only for a disappointing ending but also the lack of information that he needed. Though, he should have guessed a novel wouldn't have too much in the way of giving out information as to telling a story.

He would have to go to a library in order to get more information on blood hunters and anything like them. I sounded like another good lead. He flipped back to the beginning of the book to see if he missed anything while skimming.

It didn't take him long before he noticed the cart had stopped moving. He looked around confused and soon stood up to investigate what was going on.

He attempted to carefully poke his head out of the cart, only for one of his horns to catch and scrape against the wood frame that held up the tarp like leather that blocked out the outside world.

He cringed at the noise, and continued to look out. He noticed that all the other wagons in the caravan had stopped as well. He hopped into the driver's seat to get a better look as to why everything was on hold.

He could just barely make out a small crowd around one of the first carts in the line of others.

Perhaps they hit something or someone?

Maybe something or someone fell out?

He hoped no one was hurt or worse, yet he theorized that was lower on the list of things likely to have happened.

Not too long after he stepped out of the cart, the small crowd dispersed. Grendle coming back to his rightful place.

"Ain't no good I's tell ya"

"What's not? Did anyone get hurt?"

Grendle shook his head. "Oh no, just one of them wheels hit something, shattered the wood and all."

"Oh..." he looked to his pockets. If only he had something to help them out, or knew how to fix a wheel.

"They'll be sending someone up ahead to get the supplies needed to fix 'er up, till then, we'll be staying back. Got almost an 2 hours or so till the sun will start it's set anyway..." Even though he spoke in a joyful tone, M.T. could tell he was frustrated and upset but these turn of events.

"That's fine with me, not like I've got anywhere to go or do. And if you need the help, I can lend a hand."

Grendle just sighed, "nothing much yous could do. But at least yous and I can have a chat. Would be nice to just talk."

M.T. smiled, "whatever you need, though it might be more of you talking and be asking questions"

The dwarf just chuckled, "well, let's get off the road first. Wes gunna need to set up camp, and that ain't gonna be easy around here."

M.T. took a quick look around, Glendle was right. There were no good clearings or trees. Just hills, grass, and them.

"Well, we'll just have to make do then..."

With some time and effort, the muscle that the caravan had pushed and pulled the broken cart off the side of the road as far as they could manage.  
The larger carts followed not too long after as the two smallest ones continued onward to Zadash to repair the shattered wheel.

The four that remained made as much of a circle as they could and started to set up a campsite to the best of their abilities.

The tiefling made his way out and started to gather anything that could be burned for a fire. It was mostly small twigs and dry grass, there was little to nothing in this area.   
Not to mention his wounds cried when he would reach up too high or too low, which he grumbled.   
He ended up returning with a bundle of small sticks and twigs, dry grass, and an oddball plank of wood that was rather long.

The people gladly took his findings and ushered him to sit. He declined the offer as he was quite sick of sitting and lying down. Despite his objections, they sat him down and gave him some tea and a blanket.

He smiled and enjoyed himself, he had a feeling he wasn't going to win this battle. He took a sip from his cup, the warmth of the liquid heating his hands, and the steam his face. It had a dull taste with a hint of a berry flavor. It was an odd blend but not exactly distasteful, not something he would willingly pick out himself.

He took another sip, enjoying the warmth of the liquid as it traveled down his throat. He closed his eyes, as his eyelids were becoming heavy, his tongue numbed a little at the taste. He wasn't sure why but the drink was making him sleepy. Or perhaps it the fact he had been moving more than before.

He set his drink aside and wrapped the blanket tightly around himself. He let the rest of his senses go and let his mind rest.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He was in the same city as before. It was dark and hard to make somethings out as if his dark vision meant nothing. He placed his hands on his hips and pondered for a little while.

Was this just a dream?

Does this not mean anything?

He shook his head and walked to the place he had to meet up with the person beforehand.

The place was similar except he ended up on a different road. He raised an eyebrow and followed it. The street light, gave his vision aid, he could see his tattoos were decorated across his skin, and he wore an odd coat. It was a mostly marron color with many colorful details. It was very flashy and eye-catching.

Very showy. Very carnival-like.

He followed the road up to an inn like place. Outside was the person he saw before. This time he could see them a lot better.

Their long hair faded from black to white. Their build strong with clothing and armor to complement it perfectly. Their skin looked pale, yet he couldn't exactly tell.

He approached and only stopped to think about what to say.

"Good evening."

The figure turned to meet his eyes, they gave off a small smile.

"Good evening. You sure took your time."

Their eyes shown with familiarity in seeing his face. He took in more details as to remember her.  
Her voice was light, not like a male's voice, it was quiet and sheepish. It reminded him of silk or the scent of lavender.  
Her eyes were a light purple and green or blue, with dark eye shadow around the two orbs.   
A thin line ran down her chin, it was a light blue-gray color.

"Ahh, well got a little distracted on my way here, I apologize." He gave a sheepish smile in hopes she would buy his small fib.

She eyed him but just nodded and motioned for the door.

He took the hint and opened it for the two of them and walked into the bar.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He jerked awake at the sound of a bang. His heart was instantly racing he looked around to see what was going on. He saw a flash of sparks in the dark clouded and night-time sky as the people around him were running and scattering trying to get away from a danger he couldn't seem to find.

He stood up and took a few steps to get a better look around but felt a piercing pain in his thigh. He stumbled forward and looked to see what had caused his leg to cry out in protest, as he looked back he noticed a crossbow bolt sticking out of his flesh. He ground his teeth together and turned his focus back to his man quest at the moment.

At first glance, he could see the bodies of people he had eaten with and spent time in conversation with, but just beyond them, he could make out two figures. Both dressed in dark clothing and holding weapons, one a crossbow, which most likely was the one that shot him, and another with a sword in his grasp.

M.T. stopped himself before charging at them, not only because it was stupid to run into a fight without any weapons but because of the cry that rung into the night sky.

"DAD!!"

The shrill cry as that of a boy and one that he was familiar with, he looked to where he heard it come from and ran towards it. He wasn't questioning any motives or plans of action he might have been briefly coming up with, he just ran.

When he did get to the sense he could see a man dead with a boy that looked to be next in line to death's door as a darkly dress man held a crossbow firm and ready to fire. M.T. quickly recognized the boy, and before he knew what had happened he let out a hiss and threw a fist towards the armed man.

The fist collided with the man's nose and he fell backward holding on to his newly blooded nostrils.

"Arther, grab anything you can and run."

The boy stared up at him with tears staining his cheeks. After a while, he quickly stood and ran.

The lavender tiefling turned to the threat, he would just have to hope Arther made it.

"You fucking bastard!!" The dark dressed figure stood, crossbow still in hand.

"How about we make this a fair fight?" The tiefling put up his fists and snarled slightly.

The other man snickered and dropped his crossbow accepting the brawl.

The darken clothed man threw the first punch which was easily dodged by the purple man. Seeing an opening, M.T. launched his fist at where the man was, in which he ducked out of the way leaving him open for the next attack. The tiefling took the opening giving to him and brought his elbow down onto his shoulder blade, he heard a pop and a shifting with his strike. The black-coated man let out a pained groan as he fell to a knee from the impact, now that M.T. got a better look at him he could see the slightly pointed ears of a half-elf and the dark tuffs of hair that poked out of his headcover.

He was too distracted by taking in the features of his enemy to notice the backup the half-elf was receiving. The tiefling felt a quick slice from a blade meet his side as another figure stepped into view. He let out a hiss from the sting the wound giving out but it wasn't as bad as other injuries on his body at the time.

"Come to join the party?" 

"Oh shut it you devil"

"Welcome to the fun..." The lavender tiefling swung his fist at his new target, clocking him in the jaw. The new friend corrected his now crooked jawline and growled he took a jab at the devil, yet M.T. was quick. He grabbed onto the man's hands and fought with him, the stab would have hit his still healing, and quite annoying, wound which would have prolonged his recovery. He struggled to push the blade away from him as it inched towards him. He snarled, his ears flattening slightly and his tail thrashed, he used his strength to move the point away from his pre-existing wound yet it was a losing battle. Once the blade was far enough away from anything vital he pulled onto the arm of the man causing him to trip forward and the blade to slice into the flesh of his side.

The backup bandit yanked himself away from the tiefling and pointed his blade back at his enemy. The blade, however, had an icy pattern guttering out of it, everyone that could lay eyes on it stopped and stared at it in disbelief. 

"W-what the- w-what did you do?" M.T. blinked his pupilless eyes a few times. 

"I... I don't know..."

"Don't lie to me, yous a witch? A demon?" His eyes perked slightly as an idea formed within his mind.

"Perhaps I am, and you just walked into my camp. Say I wonder what I'll do now that my plan to consume all these people that have been scattered by unruly people has been expired?" He turned away from the two bandits and gave off a sly smirk as he heard the two of them converse quietly, he could tell they bought his story and were trying to figure something out.  
"But not to worry!" The red-eyed man spun back around and placed an arm over each of their shoulders. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement!" He carefully took the dagger out of the hands of the one bandit and slipped it into his pocket.

"Oh p-please! We don't wanna cause any more t-trouble to you, sir!" The other bandit just nodded with his hand up as far as the one injured shoulder could reach, which wasn't far.

M.T. hummed as if in thought. "Well, you could gather up your things and walk on out of here as if nothing had ever happened. Yet, you did shoot me and my meals... that's gonna cost ya..."

"A-anything!" M.T. raised an eyebrow.

"Anything?" The man nodded his head. "Well, I am low on coin... could help me buy some non-person food... maybe a good sword for flaying my meals?" He gave off a sharp-toothed grin to spook them even more into submission.

"Of course!" They quickly broke off to do whatever they planned on doing, he took a look around him to see if he could spot any other darkly dressed men.

He could see a few more gathered in the center, where he had fallen asleep. From what he could see, there were 3 shifting through things they had found. If he had to guess, there were 5 total and only 5.  
Their armor and weapons were nice and their fighting skills, from what he saw, weren't bad at all.

5 would have been enough.

He took a deep breath and walked out to meet them.

"Good evening gentlemen!" His cocky smile stretched along his face as he approached. The men instantly pulling out their weapons.   
"Oh, come now, you don't need those. Why don't we just think about this and come to a reasonable conclusion to this mess."

They kept their weapons trained on him as he walked.

"What would you even have to say that would make us listen?"

"Well, seeing as your other two friends aren't here with you I'd say I've caused enough bloodshed for one night, don't make me spill more..."

Two of the men shifted slightly in disbelief and discomfort. He could see the panic start to flood their minds. The third stood strong but eventually, he gave the signal to move.   
The three of them walked off not letting their eyes lose sight of the purple tiefling.

Once they were far enough away, he heard the footsteps of the two other cloth darken men.

"We got 5 gold and a short sword, that's all we got"

The horned man turned and smiled, "that'll do... now _**run**_ "

**M.T.**

**Male Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**

**25/59 HP**


	6. Chapter four

_Thunk_

_Thunk_

_CRACK_

The sound of splintering and shattering wood filled the small area around where the tiefling was practicing with his new toys.

A dagger that still had some of his dried blood on it, and his new short sword. Well, new to him at least.

He pulled the sword from the abused barrel, his ear twitching at the sound of footsteps.

"Need help? You know I have two capable hands right here." He gave a friendly toothy smirk to the approaching visitor.

"Oh no, you have done enough. You should be resting after fighting them." The woman, who but down the basket she was carrying to urge him to bed, was the one who was in charge of taking care of the injured and wounded. She had spotted M.T. limping slightly while helping the others fix up any damage the bandits had caused and instantly pulled him aside and forced him to rest.

"It was nothing really, I'm fine, in fact, I've had a _lot_ worse." She just sighed and shook her head, she grabbed his hand and sat him down, gently yet forcefully.

"Then take off your shirt and let me see the damage for myself." The lavender man felt his face grow slightly warmer than before but started slipping off his still dirty and tattered top. He had been offered other shirts before but none were his lanky and almost overly-thin size.

Once he carefully pulled the shirt over his decorated horns, the bandages he had replaced and updated to comply with his new gashes became visible to the female before him. She came closer to inspect the slightly stained cloths. She poked the latest edition which caused him to slightly scrunch his face up in displeasure.

"You did a fairly good job in dressing them, have you done stuff like this before? Dress and treating wounds I mean." She didn't look at him, she was busy unwrapping his torso.

"Not that I know of, it just did what I thought felt right. If that makes sense..." He kept his eyes away from what she was doing as he didn't really want to see his death-defying wound again. He's only seen it once when he was replacing and updating the cloth she was now removing. He felt nauseous and dizzy just looking at it, he could exactly describe the exact feeling he felt but he knew he shouldn't be alive, and that is with the week or so of healing he has received.

"I guess it does, I've heard you don't remember much..." His ear twitched as the sound of her cursing under her breath. "I'd ask you where you got something like this but I guess I wouldn't get an answer huh?"

"Nope" The tiefling's face was scrunched and he hissed in pain when she started to poke and clean the healing wound.

"Gods I'd love to hear the story..." She light dabbed a wet cloth on his inked skin to clean off dirt and dried blood that had accumulated. "What's with the pink moss though?"

"What moss, moss shouldn't be pink." He grunted out.

"At least I think it's moss," she lifted her hand and showed him a slightly large clump of pink moss. "It was gathered around your..." she motioned a finger around his gashes, which were slightly bleeding thanks to her messing with them. "Do you put it there? Because I don't think that's gonna help at all."

"I didn't put anything in or on them, I wouldn't know what to put on them anyway..." He looked to see if there was any of it left on him. None. She must have clean it out. Good.

"Well... that's odd... maybe it's infected..." she started muttering under her breath as she studied the moss. This caused a slightly panicked expression to cross M.T.'s face. "Guess time will tell." She started rewrapping his body, slightly tighter than how he had done it.

"That's comforting..." he grumbled. They sat in silence while she finished up. He looked to the still darkened sky outside of the small tent he had to himself for the time being.

"Hey what's with that weird paper..." M.T. looked at her with a confused expression. She finished wrapping him and took out a mysterious piece of parchment that was tucked crudely into his pants as if it had somehow fallen or been forced into its spot. He carefully clutched it once it was in his possession, he unfolded the small fragment of parchment to see what lied with it.

It was a note.

The handwriting was nice yet the ink was smudged in some places from water droplets, not enough to ruin the message entirely but enough to make it difficult to make out it's meaning. He was afraid to read the written words in fear of what they held. He took a deep breath and pushed everything aside.

_If you are reading this it means you are by some miracle alive and well. You can find us through the Gentleman, he should be able to point you in the right direction._

_If you do not remember anything, like the last time you had risen, then your name is Mollymauk Tealeaf. You are apart of a team called The Mighty Nein and are a dear friend to all of us. The Gentleman is located in Zadash at a tavern called the Evening Nip._

_Come back to us._

_Please._

_Caleb_

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He lied there for a while rereading the note. He couldn't find sleep easily last night, not with the rude awaking hours before, nor the fact he had been faced with something that changed everything.

He was Mollymauk Tealeaf.

That was his name.

Molly.

He couldn't breathe after he first read the note.

He felt like how he had the first few days of being conscious. Scared. Confused. Frightened. And oddly enough homesick.

He was homesick and he didn't understand why.

At least not till now.

He understood why this feeling was hitting him, or to an extent. He had a team, friends, maybe a family. He wanted to see them, to be with them and tell them he was alright and they didn't have to worry or be sad anymore.

Though... he didn't remember them.

He had a similar feeling to run and embrace the large woman in his dreams, he assumed she was with them, and this Caleb was one of them no doubt. He was the one to write the note after all.

He rolled over onto his side, he looked at his new roommates that had been dragged into the tent with him not too long ago. All were unconscious and seemed to be having a peaceful slumber. He sighed and decided he should probably do the same.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

Unlike the other times his dreams began, this one started in a nicely lit interior with a buzzing and bustling of some patterns within a tavern-like place. In fact, he remembered seeing some of it in his last dream.

_Must have been where it left off..._

He took note of the figure that was following him, it caused him to smile seeing the pale woman standing guard behind him. She just gave a warm smile back which caused his hurting heart to swell with happiness.

He needed to find her again.

He turned to look over the people within the bar, he started walking from table to table introducing himself and slipping a piece of paper to each of the small groups. As he did this he felt a sense of uncontrol over his actions, he was just watching through his eyes and hearing his voice and others through his ears. It was off-putting at first and he felt a sense of dread overwhelming him. Though he looked to two tables that seemed to be watching him, and after seeing his reflection, he didn't blame them.

He had his horn jewelry which was shiny and well taken care of, unlike how they look on him now. He could see the start of his peacock tattoo on his neck and slightly on his cheek as well. And then there was that damn coat.

He had a slight hatred for it if he was being honest. He wasn't exactly sure as to why but he disliked liked how much attention it brought him.

Yet his dream self seemed to bask in it.

He came up to the table, unlike the other tables these people had faces that were hard to see. The lighting was fine it was just his vision that seemed to not be able to make out the details properly.

"Well, I don't believe I've ever seen another group of people in more need of a good time in my entire life."

The dream ended with him and the large woman leaving the tavern, he couldn't exactly make out any of the group's voices with upset him.

He didn't understand why he couldn't in the first place. It only seemed to frustrate him.

He kept his eyes closed to help him think and replay the memory in hopes to gain more information that he might have missed.

He came in, past out filers to the carnival, talked around, sat at a table, talked to a blue blob, told a fortune with a full deck of the few cards he had, had a drink, and left.

He took out the cards from their pocket and looked at them.

Death.

Kings.

The Seeker

The Star

and finally

The painted Serpent.

The serpent card was the same one he pulled for the blue blob in his dream. Yet the difference was the blood and the paint that decorated it. Hearts, little wings, blush on the snake, and a blue blob...

just like the one he drew cards for.

He replayed his dream once more, the shapes and shades were very similar to each other. In fact, the blue figure was one of the few that was clearer than the other five that sat at the tables. The other being one that was dressed in a fur rug, he had a ginger beard and hair and dull blue for eyes. He was the clearest out of the bunch, though his voice was hard to understand like the rest he did respond to a familiar name being called.

Caleb.

He couldn't make out any more than that but he was grateful for what he had.

He had woken up not too long after the sun had risen. The others that had been moved into the tent were either asleep still or awake and in some sort of pain. The tiefling himself was sore from the unexpected combat that he felt could have been better if he had some more of his memories back but he still kicked ass.

He smiled slightly and got to his feet. His usual scar yelled at him to sit down again but he knew there was work to be done.

For a brief moment, he was dreading trying to get the caravan on the road again. Yet the fluttering of paper falling to the floor reminded him of the great number of discoveries he had found. Despite the fact he had been thinking about his past not too long ago, he had forgotten about the note.

Perhaps he needed to wake up a bit more before he started his day.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

The camp was in working order once again, there were still some damages being worked on but nothing as bad as the wheel they were waiting on. He had heard talk of letting some other carts make their way to Zadash to get the women and children out of danger. Yet that's all he's heard, no word of the returning few carts, he was starting to worry they got jumped as the caravan had.

He sighed into his cup of what he assumed to be coffee. It was dark and bitter and that's all he's knows coffee to be. At least from what he's heard from others, he didn't quite care for the drink if he was being honest but he had a cup and he could use the pick me up.

"Hey, M.T..." His red eyes liked his dark drink to the pointy-eared boy in front of him.

"Arther! Are you all alright? They didn't hurt you did they?" He put down his cup and stood to address the child. The auburn-haired boy just shook his head solemnly, his eyes held tears as did his cheeks. "What's the matter then?..." he didn't want to come off as pushy or uncaring, he wanted the best for this child along with the caravan.

"My Dad got really hurt..." Arther looked up to the lavender man with fresh tears already replacing the old ones.

"Oh..." he wasn't sure what to say, "I'm so sorry..." he felt guilt stab him slightly. If only he could have got to him sooner then maybe he could have spared him of his harm.

"It not your fault. If you didn't come I'm sure he wouldn't be alive... I'm just worried about him..." the tiefling gave a small smile and offered him a seat next to the spot he was previously.

"Well, maybe I can help keep your mind off of him for the time being? I've got a lot to talk about." He wraps an arm around Arther as they sat.

"That would be nice," he could feel Arther's arms make their way around his waist. "Maybe I can help you remember somethings"

"Heh, well I did find something." He pulls the note out to show him. "Names Mollymauk Tealeaf... how's that for a proper introduction?"

A small smile made it's way on to the boy's lips. "Better than your last one"

The two sat and talked, though nothing that he remembered seemed to trigger anything in Arther's memory they had a nice time. Arther seemed to forget his worries and messed with the stuff the older male had on his person. He attempted to clean up his horn jewelry and rings but spit doesn't work too well with rust, the boy attempted it anyway.

They played a game with the few cards they had, though the rules were all over the place and often changed.

The two of them found themselves watching the clouds and eventually asleep.

**Mollymauk Tealeaf**

**38/59**

**Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**


	7. Chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! I'm back! >:)

He felt at peace whenever he went to sleep. His first days were dreamless as he was just exhausted and it was a break from his aches and pains. Then he was greeted with memories of peaceful encounters.

This, however, was not something he wanted to reencounter, especially in a dreamlike state.

The world was dark and timeless. Just like in that hell before. A timeless void filled with a consuming darkness and his thoughts.

He could see anything but he could feel, he could feel his body. He could feel the smooth floor under his bare feet. He could feel a smooth wall as his tail whips around, matching his panicked state and quickening heart rate.

His breathing becomes shallow as he frantically started his search for an exit.

He didn't know how long it would take to find one but he wanted to get out as soon as possible.

He tried to dig at the invisible walls with his clawed fingernails. His voice echoed around him as he screamed to whoever was listening to his helpless pleads.

After what felt like hours, the exhausted tiefling crumbled to the ground in sweat and ugly tears that ran down his still dirt-covered face.

_"Please... don't take this away from me..."_

He curled around himself, his tail wrapping itself tightly against his body to keep himself from taking too much space within the endless void.

He could hear the faint cries of voices but he just put his now bleeding nails over his ears to block out the noise. He squeezed his eyes shut.

The voices didn't leave, they continued to assault him till he let out a roar of anguish.

He shot straight up his eyes wide and wild as he quickly curled in on himself and into a ball of purple. His heart was beating in his ears, he found breathing to be a challenge as he labored he fill his lungs. The world darkened around him and he was back in the earth where he started.

Cold.

Muddy.

Bloodied.

_Empty._

_EmptyEmptyEmptyEmptyEmptyEmp-_

"Hey, Mollymauk!"

His suffocating thoughts were cut off by a joyful woman's voice.

His muscles involuntarily tensed up as her footsteps fell closer to him.

The voice sounded familiar yet he couldn't seem to place it.

"You doing alright?" She was a lot closer now. He didn't move to respond or look at her. He wish she would just go away and leave him to his thoughts. Even if they were ripping his brain apart.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, "Come on let's get you out of the sun, ok?" He gave a slight growl in protest as she started to force him to his feet and lead him to where ever she had planned to take him.

He groaned when he was sat back down, it was definitely cooler wherever they were. He felt something get placed over his shoulders and a tug at his shirt which caused him to look at the familiar face of the caravan's cleric. He took a deep breath through his nose and tried to calm his still racing heart.

"I'm gonna need you to cooperate with me here..." she huffed letting go of the fabric she had been tugging at. He muttered something's that not even he knew what he said. If he had any guess it would be the hollow word that filled his being. "You're starting to worry me, talk to me here..."

He stayed quick for a little while before helping her with his shirt and muttering a little louder than he was talking previously, "Gods I'm so tired and I just woke up..."

He heard the sigh of relief the cleric gave before looking him over for whatever she had thought was happening to him. He didn't pay attention to her, he was lost in his thoughts, his backstabbing mind that had betrayed him and lured him into a terrible dungeon he seemed to still be chained to.

He was cut from his mind with a sharp slap of a hand on his forehead that stayed there longer than he wished for. He looked at the female in confusion, she just ignored him and scrunched her face up.

"Are you normally this hot or is it just the fact you are a tiefling?"

"Umm... I couldn't tell you. Sorry..." he voice sounded weak and almost strained. It kind of hurt him to speak.

She seemed sat in front of him for a minute trying to decide on something before asking. "Do you know what happened just recently?" He nodded slightly, he had a general idea and that's about all he needed to know.  
"Are you feeling alright?"

He shook his head, "I'm pretty worn thin and I could use some water..." she reassures him she'll be right back then heads out yelling at the top of her lungs.

_"GET ME SOME MOTHERFUCKING WATER"_

He slightly smiles as he falls onto his back, he rubs his hand over his eyes with a sigh. His eyelids were heavy and his mind foggy with exhaustion. He didn't even know he had fallen asleep till he was in the land of his rusty memories. 

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He opens his eyes and looks around him. A brief panic fills him as he realizes he fell asleep once again but its replaced with confusion.

He is surrounded by light and other versions of him. Some having that god awful coat, some younger and skin blank along with his expressions, others banged up and beaten, and many others. All unique. All different in someway.

He stares at them all, he walks along taking in some of their features. He walks up to one. He looks over the version of him, taking in its features.

It was bleeding from injuries it seemed to have taken. Its eyes were wild and focused on something that he couldn't see. It was breathing heavily yet had a subtle smirk on its face. He was wearing the brightly colored coat and had two twin scimitars in each hand, one had a mix of blood and ice and the other was normal yet hand blood on its glass-like a blade as well.

He watched him for a few seconds taking a few steps closer as the figure shifts and turns to walk away. Molly tilted his head, watching curiously as he started to follow it. The light started to fade into darker tones of night, he could hear the sounds of battle as his vision adjusted to the newly darkened arena. Once he could make out shapes he looked around and over himself. He had taken the form of the other him, or at least that is what appeared to have happened.

He had the colorful coat, dual simitars, bleeding wounds, and he was having to try and catch his breath.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark forest like area around him. His ears twitched as they caught the sound of someone singing. He could hear laughter and hissing from things that seemed to be flying in the air. 

The singing falters and light is spread out onto the dark battle field, he watches as two familiar figures run away as winged beast make their way towards them and each fail to make a strike. He turns to see a third one make it's way towards him, he quickly swings one of his blades that is coating in ice at it landing the strike. Yet the stinger of the beast happens to snake through and hit him. He could feel the needle piece into him and something etrxa get left behind as the stinger darts back out, some of it's poison following it.

He hisses and readies his blades, the imp already being extremely injuried. He shakes his head and slices into once again, it gives off a short scream before poofing into a cloud of sulfer and flame. He huffs and quickly turns to make his way behind a tree trunk to get cover. 

He could feel the ground shake as a giant toad lands onto the earth. He heard a spell impacted the ground and the shreek of someone just missing being gored. He barely even noticed the singing had stopped before the toad roars out in anger and hatred.

He tucks himself into the trunk before poking out to see one of the imps flying above an unconscious body. He pulls out the bottom card of his deck and shows it to the imp and specks in a language he's never spoken before.

_"There is nothing but death for you here"_

The imp's wings falter a bit as it hisses, and flies slightly away. He smiles but it doesn't last as a _THOOM_ of a large hand impacts the earth with a blue blur darts pass yelling "Shit shit shit shit shit-" another figure darts past towards the large toad and blasts it as it' body slowly turned to ash on it's side. 

His head darts back to an imp going to strike the unconscious body now with someone attempting to cover them. Fear pricks into his stomach as he snarls and points one of hands to it as the familiar dull prick at the back of his neck drips blood and the eyes of the imp cloud over and it's attack just misses.

He smiles at the small victory but it doesn't last as the one to kill the toad falls to the other imp's strike. He snarls and runs to the closes enemy and swings but it flies higher making his swings miss.

_"Oh, traveler help me!"_

He cocks an eye brow as the imp in front of him burns up in a blueish hued flame. He runs to the last imp and swings his blades and it skillfully dogdes, Molly growls getting frustrated. He watches as another blue blur comes up from behind it and twacks it to the ground with their staff and starts stomping on it. 

He huffs and attempts to calm himself, the stomping stops as the figure runs pass him and he turns to follow. 

His vision slowly being consumed by a darkness. 

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He awoke to the sounds of cheering and moving wheels acrossed the dry grass that the caravan had set up their camp

Molly grumbled before sitting up, he stretched to try and get a glimpse of what was going on outside of the tent he had fallen asleep in. He saw a small crowd gathered around what he could only make out to be a small covered wagon.

He look back and to his hands, his mind went back to the dream and he instutivly clutched onto two nonexistent handles of blades that had long sence been reclaimed but someone else.

He sighed and moved to stand up when he noticed the water cup next to his bed roll he had been lying on not to long ago. He smiled and took it, it was warmer now but he could tell it was at one point cool. He was just thankful he had something to esse his sore throat.

He stood and made his way outside to the nearly setting sun and the crowd that was helping the newly arrived wagon unload and get settled with the rest of the carts.

He listened in to everyone and took in everything. He heard many people saying things along the line of, "Looks like well be off to Zadash in the morning!" He felt himself smile slightly.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

By the time early morning crossed over the small field the carts were packed and the broken wheel was fixed and fit for travel.

This time, instead of mostly sleeping and resting in the back of the wagon, he sat upfront with Grendle and talked about whatever was on their mind. They pointed out anything that seemed interesting and gave stories to how it came to be or whatever it was just to pass the time.

Eventually the sun started to set and he was nudged from his reading to have his eyes redirected to stone walls only an hour or so ahead of them.

"Looks like wes made it just in time..."

He was at a loss for words, "yeah..."

"Oh, before I forgets again I have some stuffs that might be for yous" Molly raised an eye brow at the sound of this. "Yous can find thems in the back, should be wrapped in a large blue cloth..."

Molly crawled over the back of the front seat and into the back to look for the item in question. He moved a few things aside to get to the hint of blue he could spot. Once he was able to grab the bundle of items he brought it back to the front.

"Yup that's the one! All yours!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Found the lot of it with yous!"

Mollymauk was hesitant but eventually unwrapped the dirty and slightly torn thick blue cloth. He was shocked to see the lot of familiar items inside.

He grip the handle of a blood stained glass scimitar and held it within his hands inspecting it. It felt right within his hands, better the the short scored ever did.

He had the urge to swing and test the blade but he knew it would only end in disaster.

He returned to the bundle and stuffed through the rest of the stuff. There were some silk flowers, a large stick, a n old rusted helmet that looked like it wasnt for him, another card with a moon on it that seemed to have seen better days, the other pair to his glass scimitar, a pooch of the platinum dragon, and a bunched up brightly colored heap of fabric that he knew all too well.

He took a hold of the almost maroon sides of the fabric and let it hang as he held it up to confirm his suspicions.

In his tattooed lavender hands he held a maroon embroidered mess of colors, the sleeves were a mesh of fabrics and the drooping sleeves with the insides being light blue with darker crescents.

It's the rainbow coat from his dreams.

**Mollymauk Tealeaf**

**Male Tiefling Blood Hunter 5**

**43/59**

**A/N: Hey! Got a new writing buddy to help me write this book! :D**


	8. Chapter six

He said his goodbyes to the caravan, he offered to help them with anything they needed but was denied seeing as he saved them from bandits. The cleric had given him another look over and dressed his healing wounds giving him instructions on how to deal with them. She strictly stated that "if they start hurtin' or bleedin' go straight to the hospital here in Zasdash, no buts or ifs or anything ya hear!!" He just nodded as she pointed at him and raised her voice. She told him the location of the hospital and told him to say out of trouble before sending him on his way, alone, into the gates of Zadash.

He looked around at the hustle and bustle of people moving in and out of the city. Guards posted at their usual points, at least he assumed, their eye scanning the crowd as he pasted.

_Welcome to Zadash..._

The thought made him give off a small smile, he made it, now he was a step closer to finding the Mighty Nein. He could basically see the white woman and hear her voice as she welcomed him with open arms.

_One step at a time, Molly_

He took a deep breath to calm himself. He can get caught up in daydreams once he's found where this _Evening's Nip_ is or at the least a place to sleep for the nights to come.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

Apparently, the Evening's Nip isn't the greatest place to get drinks from. Upon asking around most people tried to redirect him to a better tavern than "that hobgoblin's asshole." Yet he eventually found his way to the run-down looking place.

"Well..." he looked over the note to make sure he had the right place, "never said it looked pretty..." Molly shrugged his shoulders and shoulder open the door.

The inside was just as he thought it would look like, in fact, he thought he might have remembered the interior somehow. He shook off that thought and went up to the bartender.

"Good evening sir, I was wondering if there was a Gentleman here I could speak with?" The shorter man looked him over then at the nearly empty tavern.

"And who the fuck do you think you are" His glare cut through Mollymauk's ruby red eyes.

"Uh well, names Mollymauk Tealeaf I'm trying to find the Mighty Nein. I was told to come here and speak with the Gent-"

"Oh your that purple one, thought you looked familiar... what happened to that weird coat of yours, the only thing that made me even think it was ya was those tattoos of yours, quite the eye-catching stuff ya got there." Molly frowned slightly and looked over the inked markings etched into his skin. "Come on... I won't keep ya"

The man jumped away from the bar and made his way into the back room. Molly took a quick look around before following him.

Did he really stick out that much? Maybe he should try and hide himself as to not draw too much attention, he did not want that, at least not when he was alone with no one else around to help him.

He felt himself shiver at the thought of fighting someone twice his size with a long staff with a wicked blade at the end, a similar size to the wrapped wound on his chest. He felt his hands begin to slightly shake as his breathing and heart rate quickened.

"Nervous?" Molly was snapped from his thoughts and to reality.

"Huh? Oh ya, don't know what to expect" he flashed a grin. The man eyed him oddly but seemed to not push any further. He opened a trap door and let the lavender tiefling descend at his own risk.

"I wouldn't put it past ya" he gave off a chuckle as he made his way back to the bar. "Close the door on the way down..."

Molly looked back to the stone stairs and took a deep breath to calm himself before following the stairs to where ever it would take him.

The temperature started to cool the further he went down. The stairway was dark but it started to grow brighter as he neared the entrance to a larger tavern looking place.

He looked around in slight awe at the sight of it. The bustle of the people here seemed to quiet as he walked in which made his focus turn to the people within the bar now looking at him. He cleared his throat to speak only for someone to speak up for him.

"Lucien?" He turned to see a large cat-like creature approach him cautiously. From the lashing of its tail, he could tell they weren't too keen on seeing him.

"Umm, not quite, at least from what I know..." he took a step back as the feline looked over him. They muttered under their breath as they investigated him.

"You look horrible..., sorry for being so blunt but its simply the truth." They paused when the two of their eyes locked with each other. They seemed to almost break under Molly's gaze. "Come, you are thin, you must eat." They turned and guided him to the bar.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He talks with what he now knows as a Tabaxi for a good few hours. She starts by asking him questions, mostly about what he knows. She's very disappointed to learn he knows so little, but she's willing to help none the less. She reintroduces herself as Cree and is confused when he tells her his name is Mollymauk Tealeaf, but she doesn't push too much on the matter. Something about switching names in the past. She informs him about stuff in Zasdash and about more of this Blood Hunter stuff.

They laugh, they smile, they eat and drank together. They have a good time, but something in Molly's gut was twisted. He wasn't sure what it meant but he knew something was... off.

"Well... I'm quite tired, I've been on the road for... almost a week... I'll see you tomorrow, I have to speak to the gentleman but this was a very pleasant detour."

Her ears perked, "Yes, it is good to see you are not dead, Luc- Molly..."

He nods his head and walks out of the lower Evening's Nip. The remnants of a smile still on his lips.

He navigates through the town to a place called the Leaky Tap that Cree told gave him directions to. Its instantly more appealing that the Evening's Nip, both the inside and outside.

There weren't many people within the bar but that seemed to be ideal at the moment. Molly walked up to the bartender and after a few minutes got the Dragonborn's attention.

"Well, its good to see you back! Of you're looking for your friends they just left today for the coast, Nicodranis I thing I heard. You might be able to catch them if you leave in the morning" Molly was stunned, he could barely think with all these thoughts racing through his head. They were here? In the same town as him. Just hours ago?!? He was so close yet so far!

"Di-Ca-" he couldn't even speak, he ended up just putting a coin on the bar and pointing upstairs. The bartender must have gotten the message because he handed over one of the keys to the rooms. 

Molly simply went upstairs with his stuff and face planted onto the bed. He couldn't believe he had just missed the people he needed to see.   
He sighed and thought about a plan for tomorrow, he had to go at least see the Gentleman and say goodbye to Cree. He owed her that.   
He'd need a horse if he was ever going to attempt to catch up with what he can only believe to be the Nein.

He growled into the pillow. He'll deal with this in the morning.

He woke up early due to some dream he couldn't remember though the feeling of hopelessness and sadness lingered within him. It reminded him of before he woke up with piles of dirt on top of him.

He shook it off, for once he was grateful for the nightmare as he was know fully awake at a time that would hopefully give him enough time to speak with Cree and the Gentleman and perhaps get him a horse. He quickly grabbed his stuff and went into the still darkened streets of Zadash.

He cursed himself for not having anything to cover himself from the sight of others and the biting cold of winter that was starting to settling in.

He made his way through the winding roads and to the Evening's Nip. The bartender nodded to him as he made his way in the back and down the stairs. He prayed to whatever deity he was in favor of that either Cree or the Gentleman was awake for him to speak to.

He made his way in and saw a familiar feline tiredly eating breakfast at the bar. He made a beeline towards her and sat down on the next stool by her.

"L- Mollymauk! What are you doing here so early?" Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"W-well I was told that my friends just happened to leave town yesterday, I'm hoping to catch them but I have unfinished business here. And I could use a horse..." he scratched the back of his head, his voice was shakey.

"But... you are not well for travel!" Cree looked him over as her nose crinkled. "You need a bath for one... and two do you have rations or water? What about a bedroll or anything for a fire? You can not travel alone!"

Molly's heart sank, Cree was right, whether he liked it or not he was in no shape to travel alone. He was still removing both mentally and physically from waking up in a grave. His grave.

"Listen... I could help you get yourself looking more yourself if you'd like, but... please don't go alone. I cannot stop you but just take my request... please..." her ears flattened and her tail stilled.

"Of course..." Molly smiled slightly as Cree sighed in relief.

"We can go to the bathhouse to get you and your clothes cleaned and fixed up. But first, eat." Cree motioned for the bartender which had already prepared a plate for Molly and set it down in front of him a few minutes afterward.   
The smell of the eggs and bacon made him realize how hungry he really was.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

It didn't take long for the two of them to finish and for Cree to grab his arm and pretty much drag him through the streets of Zadash. The sun had started to rise and people started to make there way into the quiet city. He looked around and marveled at the buildings around him. 

They made their way into a nice looking open place, it was mostly white with pillars stretching from ceiling to floor. Cree made her way to the front desk where a lady was sitting. Before Molly could even get a word in Cree had paid and been lead into a white hallway. Cree assured Molly along as she followed the worker to a private room. 

He could feel the heat of the steam hit him before he saw the pool of water.

"Alrighty, I'll let you two get settled. Put any clothing you want to have washed or patched up in this basket. If you need anything just let me know, towels are in that cupboard over there." The lady gestured while she went over everything.

"Do you have any clean bandages?" Molly asked while claiming two towels for him and Cree.

"Oh well... i can see what we've got, otherwise I would go to the hospital for those." She excused herself and left him and Cree alone.

"You are hurt?" The feline's eyes sharpened as her pupils narrowed in alarm.

"It's just an old healing one, it's not as bad as it once was..." He took the rainbow coat and the blue dragon shawl and put them into the basket.

"You could have told me! I could have healed you sooner!" Cree stood beside him as she pestered him.

"I didn't think it was important, and it was mentioned till now" he worked his boots off, both of which were coated in mud and the soul of one of them was starting to fall off.

Cree sighed and shook her head, "Just get yourself clean, if you need any help I'll ask one of the workers here, I'm going to run some errands." She meets his gaze as she talked, her eyes drifting to his horns every once in a while. "Your little horn bobbles are dirty too, give them to me and I can see about getting them cleaned up at the blacksmiths." 

"You don't have to, I have coin of my own-"

"Not a word, you were about to leave town without having eaten or any clue as to what supplies you would have needed." She crossed her arms and scowled at him. She handed him a small mirror and the two of them got to work on removing the once shiny and colorful decorations that littered his deep violet horns.

After she gathers everything, Cree left to do her shopping and other tasks. Molly was left alone. He wasn't quite sure if he liked it but he shrugged it off and got the bath ready for himself.

He put his clothes in the basket and but that in the hallway for the lady who guided him to the private room. He settled himself in the bath and soon found himself relaxing. All his tense muscles unwinding over time.

It felt great. He lied his head on the floor behind him and closed his eyes to just sit there and just be.

He spent a few minutes just sitting there before he picked up the soap he found they had provided. He picked out a lavender one because the bottle almost matched his skin tone and it smelled good too.

We worked on removing all the dirt he had gathered on the road and in his grave. He shuttered a little at that thought, he started to scrub harder trying to remove any connection he had with that empty and hollow place.

He was careful to clean his scabbed chest, he found more of that pink mossy growth around his wound. He made sure to remove any, even if it hurt like hell.

His hair was easy enough, even though it was long and tangled. He made a mental note to ask for a hairbrush and anything to cut his nails with.

His horns were simple though they were scuffed and possibly needed to be fixed up a little. He noticed darker patches and patterns on them from what he guessed was the places his trinkets and bobbles hung.

The last thing he did before drying off was looking at himself more. Mostly his tattoos. The conversation between him and the Evening's Nip's bartender came into mind again. Was he really that flashy that someone could easily identify him?

He felt his tail slightly lash as uneasiness came over him.

He didn't want to get caught alone with people that know him for unpleasant reasons.

He dried himself off and went through one of his bags. He rummaged around before pulling out his Disguise kit. It didn't have much to offer but what it had would be enough for a while. He moved a mirror around so he could get a better view and started to mix the paint to get the right shade.

He looked himself over one last time before painting over the ink patterns that covered his skin. He mostly painted over his arms and neck; and of course, the peacock feathers that reached up to his cheek. He didn't have enough to cover everything but he had enough to cover the ones that showed the most.

Once he finished he rewrapped his chest with what little bandages the lady could find for him and put on his newly cleaned and repaired clothes. He stuffed the bright coat into the same bag once again, wrapped the blue tapestry around his shoulders, and put his scimitars in their rightful place.

Now he just had to wait for Cree.

**Mollymauk Tealeaf  
Male Tiefling Blood Hunter level 5  
48/59**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!   
> Lol hope ya'll doing OK!! And I hope this help you out in anyway!   
> And for those how might questioned where I'm pulling these things from, I have read many a wiki and rewatched many a video to write this. Im trying to be as cannon compliant as i can but also putting my own little spin on it. God rewatching someone the stuff really hurts I miss my boy.  
> But hope that answers some of your questions!  
> Also, as you can see, this takes place almost right after he dies. So he would have been dead for about 2-3 weeks. Seeing as the Nein took a week to kill the sheps and to travel to Zadash and spent two weeks in Zasdash.  
> Hope that clears somethings up!


	9. Chapter Seven

He didn't wait long for Cree to come back. She did a small double take but seemed to enjoy the change.

"You look much better and not half-dead..." she smiled a little, "you look more like yourself... though your hair is longer than I remember..."

He smiled watching her getting lost in her own mind. "Well, haven't had an opportunity to cut it recently... though I must say, I clean up nicely don't I"

She scoffed, "Don't get too big of an ego just yet, you still look and smell rough..." he rolls his eyes. "Though... if I may ask, your tattoos, were they just fake?"

His tail slightly wraps itself around his leg. "No... I just painted over them, as to not attract too much attention to myself."

She nods, "That's a good idea... how much more do you have of that paint?" He raises an eyebrow.

"I used what I had left, why?" She simply shakes her head and mutters to herself. He gives her a confused look but doesn't push.

"I have your bobbles and such..." she held out a small leather satchel for him, he was a little hesitant but he took it and put it into one of his other bags. He wasn't sure if he wanted them, he didn't want to be shinny and colorful, he just wanted to be safe. He wanted to be in the arms of the strong woman and be loved. He frowned slightly as he followed Cree out into the now busy streets. He was half paying attention to where he was going and half lost to his thoughts. He was distraught for reasons he wasn't quite sure, maybe it was something the old Molly had felt, something he had to do before he was put in the ground. Could he even be considered the old Molly? He still wasn't entirely sure what to call the person that was before him, he wasn't sure if he was the same. He knew he was, in some way, Mollymauk, yet he was sure as to want extent. He then thought about Cree and how she had called him, Lucian. He honestly got chills at the name, it seemed so cold and cruel though it was the first time he had heard the name. He wondered if he would ever remember anything about this Lucian.

"Molly? Are you still with me?" He looked up to see Cree's golden feline eyes looking at him with worry.

"Yes, sorry! Just lost in thought..." He looked back at his newly cleaned boots. Cree sighed.

"You should be ready to go by tomorrow morning. But for now, we have some shopping to do..." Molly perked up at the mention of leaving tomorrow. His tail slightly swaying to reflect his mood.

After a while of shopping and getting supplies Cree thought he needed, they had started to head back to the Evening's Nip, it was close to noon at this point and the two were getting hungry. They had picked up the pace and eventually made their way down below into the Gentleman's Evening's Nip and to the bar to order some lunch. 

"This has been a fun break thus far..." Molly turned his head slightly so he could see Cree. "I thought you had died, twice I had thought that... your friends had lied about it at first but... are you sure you want to go back to them?" She looked towards him, her feline eyes shining with worry. 

Molly looked down and focused on his hands, it was odd at first not seeing the inky head of the black serpent. "I feel like if I want answers I'm going to have to follow their trail. I don't know how long that will take but I willing to give it a shot." The bartender sat two drinks in front of them, Molly taking one into his hands. "I know that's not exactly what you my be wishing to hear but I have a gut feeling about this."

Cree gives a simple nod, "I understand... Just know that you can come back here, I'll be here if you need me." He smiles, it was comforting to know he had someone he could fall back on if he needed to. 

The two had time to eat and talk about whatever else they wanted to, mostly just small talk. As they almost finished their meal footsteps approached as someone approached the two from behind.

Cree was the first one to react, "Ah yes, Molly this is the one who will be traveling with you!" He turned to see a man with thick arms crossed in front of their steel looking armored chest. A bald man with a greying dark brown stubble on his cheeks and chin. His eyes a light hazel coloration that was glaring down where Molly sat. He found himself shifting under his harsh gaze.

"Well, good to be meeting you! Name's Mollymauk Tealeaf, happy to be traveling with you..." he held out a hand to shake yet the hazel eyes just watched him, judging him. He didn't like it.

"So... you want to track down some folks heading to Nicodranus, eh?" He didn't move anything other than his gaze, which was now focused back onto his own red eyes. He dropped his hand as it retreated back to his grip on his chair.

"Ah... yes. I got separated from them, I was just wanted to get back to them. Nothing more or less." He gave the cold man a smile, his tail shifting to match his cock grin. He just got a gruff sigh in return.

"I don't care about the reason as long as I get paid" Molly frowned slightly, he wasn't exactly in tune with this man and his attitude towards all of... this.

"As I said, you get Luc- Molly to where he needs to go." Cree slightly hissed as she spoke, as if she shared his thoughts, and wasn't thrilled about this man's mood either. "Half of the payment upfront and half once you return." 

The man just grunted and moved a little ways away to get a drink from the bar. Molly looked to his hands before shifting his gaze to Cree. She was back to finishing her drink, a slight scowl on her face as he thought about what was to conspire. 

"I can give you want I have to pay him" He watched her express shift as she looked at him like a mother scrolling a child. 

"Stop! You don't have anything to offer! Besides he is heading out the same way for a job anyway," her face softened as she stared at him. "I think you should get ready to go tomorrow... Wouldn't want Alastair to get too impatient now would we..."

The lavender tiefling smiled a little, "I guess not... thank you for everything though... I don't know what I would do without you..." 

Cree waved him off "Just think of it as me paying off some debts" she finished up her drink and walked away from the bar after saying "I wish you luck... I'll be here if you need me." He watched her walk off, an empty feeling crawling it's way back into his body.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

He rolled onto his stomach, he couldn't sleep. He had no clue what time it was which he found odd, almost as if he had a watch of some kind with him before he woke up in the ground. He sighed and closed his eyes, curling up and cuddling a pillow he held to his chest with gave a dull wave of pain through his body as he touched his healing wound. His tail flicked every once in a while as he tried to get himself to fall into the darkness of night.

_CAW CAW_

He jolted up in bed as his heart rate started to pick up from the sudden noise.

_Thunk thunk thunk_

He swung his feet onto the floor and walked over to the window. The moonlight peering through the curtains that draped over the window. He snuck up and parted the curtains only to see a black feather bird sitting on the window sill. It ruffled it's feathers before being spooked and flying off. 

A Raven.

He heard it's call before. He remembered hearing it when he was in the dark place. It was the noise that lead him to his freedom.

He watched the bird fly away, his eyes meet the moon as he watched. It was big and peaceful, he felt at ease, his muscles relaxed as he stared up at it. 

Something about it seems to be calling to him, soothing him. He feels his eyelids grow heavy as he knees down and lies his head on his crossed arms. He swore he could hear a voice telling him he is safe once more in the arms of the moon but he was too tried. Before he could fully nod off he flops back into the bed, leaving the curtains open as he drifts off to sleep comforted by the moon.

🗡️ ⚔️ 🗡️

"Well looks like I've made it in time then!" Mollymauk santers up to the armored human that he met the other day. He was strapping equipment onto the saddle of his horse not paying any mind to the tiefling watching him with curious eyes.

"How unfortunate..." the other mutters under his breath. Molly simply rolls his ruby eyes and looks out to the streets of Zadash. People hustled to and fro minding their own business to focus on their own matters to attend to. "Are you going to get your horse ready or are you just going to stand there and look pretty..."

"I guess look pretty, I've never ridden a horse before" He gives the man a silly smile, he wasn't lying he's never ridden a horse before, that he knows of at least. He watches the man sigh and grumbles as he gets the other horse ready for him. "Thank you, you are such a gentleman"

"And you're an outright prick" Molly laughed which only seemed to make Alastair more ticked off at the lavender man. 

"Oh you aren't wrong my friend" He smiled as Alastair finished tugging on the saddle of Molly's horse moving away to mount his own. Molly placed what belongings he had in the given saddlebags and mounted his mare with much difficulty. "Oh I can tell this is going to be an experience..."

It took some time to get accustomed to riding a horse, however, Molly is a quick learner. He fell off only once and diverged from the path a handful of times, mostly due to the fact he wasn't paying attention. The mare he was riding seemed to be calm and easygoing, she wasn't as big as Alastair's horse but she was faster. 

Along the first day, Molly had tried to make small talk, asking if Alastair had named his horse, where he came from, all the normal conversational starters. Normally, they would have worked to stir up something to talk about, though, normally people seemed to like Molly and smiled as he charmed them with his natural flair. Alastair was not a normal person, he was cold and brushed him off, often telling him to shut up. 

Day 2 was long and boring, with nothing to do but to go forward for the limited daylight. He pulled out his few cards, he only had six of them, one being weathered more than the rest.  
He fanned them out, looking over the six thick pieces of paper. The Moon, the one more weathered and washed out than the rest. The Serpent, the one with the blue blob. The Seeker, a man looking out almost as if he is looking at the blood that stained the sky above him. Kings, a man sitting in a thrown with a crown of gold, fruit laying at his feet, the man reflected his purple-tinted skin and his extravagant tattoos, his robes reflecting the blue and silver tapestry along with the godly coat that haunts him.

"Hey! You gonna just keep moving away?" 

Molly's head whipped in the direction that Alastair was calling him. He had wandered away from the road again. Putting his cards away he forced the mare back into line.

"Sorry... Just looking at something..." he looked away from the man on the horse beside him.

"Get your head out of the clouds, gods, if you keep doing that we're going to lose time..." Molly felt himself shrink at the sound of losing time. He wanted to get back to his people, this Mighty Nien, into the arms of the black and white lady. 

He opened his mouth to say something in return when he felt a stabbing pain in his side, a crossbow bolt.

**Mollymauk Tealeaf  
** Male Tiefling Blood Hunter level 5  
40/59 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while huh? I've been watching everything live and go down. Might I say I very much so dislike the new arc but like I'm still gonna watch it lol.  
> I mostly dislike Lucian as a whole, I hate that man smh XD  
> As you can probably tell, as much as I wanted this to be cannon complaint it obviously can't be anymore, however, I am still going to make it as complaint as I can.


End file.
